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Bruce Griswald
Early Life Bruce was born in the Arathi Highlands, as a child who never had his parents to look after him, he grew up as a ward of the noble house who lorded over the town he was being raised in. He was raised alongside the lone heiress of the noble house, always told that if the call had to be made, he must give his life for her safety. His village was attacked and nearly destroyed by a Witherbark Troll raid which claimed the life of the girl he was told to protect and most of the noble house which he served. While many blame the Trolls for what happened that night, some speculate an inside influence which provoked the trolls into an attack which claimed so many lives. While the town was being rebuilt and vengeance was being saught, a teenaged Bruce would be taken up as a ward of the Kingdom and drafted into the Red Hand; an elite military group which operated closely with foreign entities in operations across the Alliance of Lordaeron in the premise of the Second War. Military Life Bruce was trained with a sword at an early age to protect the noble girl he grew up with, after the near-destruction of his village and being drafted into the Red Hand, he was taught how to use a rifle and how to survive in the wild. When the Second War begun, The Red Hands first operation was to prevent the Witherbark's from entering the war, working alongside the Wildhammer dwarves. The mission succeeded with minimal casualties, including the loss of Bruce's mentor who was the designated Markmans for the Red Hand. The captain saw fit to give his position to Bruce. Months passed and Alterac came under suspicion, once it was confirmed they were working with the Horde, much of the Stromic Military and it's assets were moved into Alterac to secure it and declare martial law. The Red Hand operated heavily during this time and a lot of the original members were killed, eventually making Bruce the new captain of the Red Hand. The Red Spy With the end of the Second War there was much speculation about what would happen to Alterac, while talks between the Kingdom of Lordaeron and Stromgarde continued, with the later wishing for the eastern half of Alterac to be annexed into their kingdom; The Red Hand was dissolved by it's new captain and instead made into an intelligence network that would operate within the fallen kingdom, killing insurgents, fighting the Shadowmoon Clan and putting down any resistance. Eventually the dispute for the land was brought to Greymanes eyes who supported the nephew Isiden. Bruce did not take kindly to this, using his networks resources to kill Gilnean soldiers and nobleman. Eventually this came to the attention of Thoras Trollbane who immediately denounced Bruce and the Red Hand, not willing to start a conflict over the issue. All operations and evidence of the killings were expunged and chalked up as random slaughters. Bruce was to be apprehended and his men to surrender, their headquarters within Alterac was raided only to find a bonfire with all records of the groups actions in the name of Arathor being destroyed. The Red Hand of Griswald, The Revolution Bruce, having been "betrayed" by his kingdom, saw fit to seek vengeance, feeling it best to start in his old hamlet. He was snuck in beyond the Thoradin Wall and found his way to the hamlet, along with his operatives they killed everyone there and burned the hamlet to the ground, hanging a Red Hand holding a dagger by the blade on the hamlet walls. Propaganda begun to spin, saying how the king has let everyone down from backing out of his request for the Alterac land. Many veterans, informed peasants and angry citizens started to revolt, holding the Red Hand symbol up high, chanting the name of Griswald, who became the public face of revolution within the highlands. The pressure from the growing revolution, the inactive responses from the Kingdom of Lordaeron and the fact they refused to execute captive orcs grew too much for the king, who outright cut all ties with the Alliance of Lordaeron. His focus shifted away from the other nations and kingdoms to home, where the revolutions death-toll was rising and Griswald was not letting up. The commoners begun to call it "Griswald's Revolution." for an Arathor without King Trollbane's lax attitude towards foreigners, they believed the martial prowess and ancient birthrights to rule should be enough for the foreigners to respect their wishes, especially towards the Alterac issue. Griswald's Revolution lost it's gumption and speed when the Undead Scourge begun to ravage Lordaeron and when the Stromgarde Brigade was founded to join Lady Jaina Proudmoore. It became less about "New Leadership" and more about survival against undying odds. When King Thoras Trollbane was assassinated under mysterious circumstances, Bruce even attempted to find his murderers and seek "Stromic Justice." His revolution was lost when the weakened kingdom came under more flak from the Syndicate and The Boulderfist Ogre's moving in and taking vast amounts of territory, even destroying The Red Hand's headquarters in the Northern Highlands. The Red Hand truly disbanded when the League of Arathor was founded, Bruce Griswald supporting the movement, but never joining it despite many offers to become one of it's founders and officers. Despite his past crimes, Arathor was always in his best interest, and thus the Griswald Revolution ended. Refuge and the Slaughter at Belvet's Landing WiP Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Stromic